In this period no image was more striking than the several lithographs depicting the 1845 Swallow disaster. This was a notable a steamboat explosion captured in a variety of early views by Currier and Ives and other masters of the genre that made topical news into a new form of art.
McKinney also singled out a 1929 painting of the town of Rondout looking east by artist N. Luici. Rondout was once the terminus for coal mined in Pennsylvania to move East by barge to provide heat and light to Manhattan. But he said by the 1880s and the emerging dominance of railroads the town disappeared, merged with neighboring Kingston in 1884-86. Despite its early prominence, he said, visual reminders of Rondout were few and far between.
An image with quite a bit of personal significance to McKinney was a large illustrated 1856 broadside for Liberty Stove Works. McKinney, once the owner of America’s largest wood stove firm, noted he owns about a dozen antique broadsides featuring early wood stoves.
He was also keen on the work of George Bellows whose 1922 painting of Woodstock is displayed in the living room.
A large map of New York State published by Paraclete Potter of Poughkeepsie in 1815 was among many items spread out on the dining room table for easy reference.
For McKinney the high point of the morning was meeting the other collectors who flocked to enjoy his hospitality and provided “the intellectual sparks” as well as non-stop conversation as they exchanged comments on their respective collecting interests. Many roamed up and down the stairs while others congregated around the coffee in the kitchen. “To be with my own kind in my own house, was so much fun, just a wonderful experience…as good as it gets.”
Commenting on the genesis of the McKinney event Eric Holzenberg, head of the NYC based Grolier Club said, “The club organizes get-togethers every few months throughout our September-May events ‘season’ wherever there happens to be a major book fair: San Francisco/LA on alternate years in February; New York in April; Boston in November; London in June; and sometimes Paris.
“The roster of events for members includes visits to major institutional and private collections of rare books and manuscripts, as well as receptions, to which members are encouraged to bring guests. The purpose of these visits is to mix populations of local and visiting Grolier Club members,” he said, “and to expose prospective members to the benefits of membership.”
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections Open for Bidding 2-17 April
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.
